1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a hinge mechanism. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a hinge mechanism and a foldable ergonomic keyboard utilizing the hinge mechanism to connect two input sections thereof, so that the keyboard can be adjusted to any ergonomic posture and is conveniently stored up.
2. Description of Related Art
Keyboard has been popularly applied as an input device of computers. Most conventional keyboards have board-shaped structures without operating posture adjustability. User's hands are forced to adapt to the keyboards and may be twisted during the entire operating duration. This non-ergonomic design often causes un-comfort to the users and may even result in injury.
To improve keyboard with ergonomic considerations, there are conventional patents, for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,489 and US 2010/0245250. U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,489 disclosed a keyboard which is divided into two input parts, and arranged a support with adjusting mechanism under the keyboard to uplift the inner sides of the two input parts. However, the inner sides of the two input parts can only be adjusted in parallel condition and cannot be expanded as fan-shape. Therefore, user's two hands and arms are still twisted and not ergonomic completely. US 2010/0245250 also divided a keyboard into two keyboard segments, which are attached to one another at top portion by a hinge or a joint such that segments are mutually pivotable. A base support with adjusting mechanism is still arranged under the keyboard, which caused the similar disadvantages as the above prior art. The base support resulted in a complex structure on the bottom side of the keyboard and the cost is raised. Besides, the two above conventional keyboards cannot be folded and are not easily to transport or store up.
Therefore, it is desirable to propose a novel ergonomic keyboard to overcome the above-mentioned problems.